GI Press Releases
Fairbanks, Alaska— The Keith B. Mather Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute now houses the state’s only Patent and Trademark Depository Library. 
The Keith B. Mather Library boasts a collection of more than 27,000 books, 24,000 reports and now a new librarian.
After a lengthy search and vetting process, Flora Grabowska was selected as the new librarian and research assistant professor to take the helm of the library. The Mather Library supports both the Geophysical Institute and the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Grabowska will begin work at the library on Aug. 30, 2010.
A National Science Foundation grant is providing six undergraduates the ability to gain valuable experience conducting their own atmospheric science research here in Alaska. The program puts students into the field, working closely with faculty from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Permafrost warming continues throughout a wide swath of the Northern Hemisphere, according to a team of scientists assembled during the recent International Polar Year.
Their extensive findings, published in the April-June 2010 edition of Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, describe the thermal state of high-latitude permafrost during the International Polar Year, 2007-2009. Vladimir Romanovsky, a professor with the snow, ice and permafrost group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, is the lead author of the paper, which also details the significant expansion of Northern Hemisphere permafrost monitoring.
The days of watching a space shuttle launch into the Florida sky may be numbered, but thanks to funding from the Alaska Space Grant Program, a fortunate few education professionals from Alaska have at least been able to witness the end of the era firsthand.
The teachers, counselors and professionals have received more than a privileged spot to view the launches; they’ve participated in themed “Education Forums,” a docket of activities focused on strengthening STEM education in Alaska schools. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Student achievement in those areas is central to the mission of NASA and the Space Grant Program.
For travelers in Europe, the recent eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull [AY-uh-fyat-luh-YOE-kuutl-uh] meant a major disruption in business and travel plans. For Alaska volcano researchers, the eruption has offered a chance to learn more about the way volcanoes work.
Three 40-pound unmanned aircraft from Poker Flat Research Range will support Alaska Shield — a statewide exercise on April 26 through May 2, 2010 — that will test Alaska’s ability to respond to a major disaster. Although the aircrafts’ specific mission will remain unknown until the exercise begins, PFRR staff is prepared to launch and fly the aircraft in the Anchorage area.
University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists will travel to Greenland in April 2010 to better understand how warming ocean temperatures impact ocean-outlet glaciers on the massive arctic island. Such studies will shed light on the future of the ice-laden country, and may provide analogs on how warmer temperatures could impact Alaska’s landscape.
University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Michael Whalen is part of a team of distinguished scientists who recently compiled a wide swath of evidence striking a definitive blow in the ongoing battle over what killed the dinosaurs.
Fairbanks, Alaska—During a vivid aurora display, a NASA sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range and arced over northern Alaska at 12:49 a.m. Alaska Standard Time on Feb. 16, 2010. The rocket, one of the largest used at Poker Flat, flew high over Kaktovik, gathering data on electric particle and wave interactions in the upper atmosphere.
